Peugeot 905 Evo 1 Bis LM #3 – Spark

1993 Peugeot 905 Evo 1 Bis LM 
Pilots: C. Bouchut, E. Hélary, G. Brabham 
Team: Peugeot Talbot Sport 
Race: 1st overall (C1 class) at Le Mans in 1993 
Spark - 43LM93 (resin) 

Published 03/03/18

Peugeot Talbot Sport (PTS) was formed in 1981 as PSA Peugeot-Citroën’s racing department. Created specially for rally racing, from their offices came the mighty Group B Peugeot 206 T16. However, in 1988 rally racing was in decline and FIA extinguished Group B. So Peugeot needed something to attract attention, and at the time Group C cars were the fad. So PTS announced the 905 Project, a car to compete in the 1991 season of the World Sportscar Championship. The car was pretty high-tech for it’s time, with a carbon fiber monocoque chassis designed by Dassault Aeronautique (like in Dassault Mirage). The new rules for 1991 stipulated a naturally aspirated engine no bigger than 3.5 l, so PTS developed the SA35-A1 engine. The SA35-A1 was an all-aluminum V10 with 3499 cm³ of displacement, DOHC and 40 valves.

Evo 1 Bis LM
I really dig the lines of the Evo 1 Bis LM.

The engine was able to produce 650 hp at 12500 rpm, just like a F1 car. In fact, the 905 was basically a F1 but with an aerodynamic body with design cues from Peugeot’s passenger cars. The 905 debuted at La Sarthe in 1991, but with disappointing results: both cars retired on Saturday afternoon. For the next year the car had its body redesigned and the engine was boosted (SA35-A2) to deliver 670 hp. And in 1992 Peugeot finally climbed the podium: both of PST’s cars came in first and third places.

THE coolest Peugeot at Le Mans? Very possibly.

However, with the dwindling spectators and absence of the big manufacturers (F1 had become the fad ), for 1993 FIA decided that there wouldn’t be a WSC that year (first time in 40 years!). Because of that, the 1993 Le Mans had factory teams only from Toyota and Peugeot, and the rest were privateers. And once again the 905 prevailed, but this time with a 1-2-3 victory.

Evo 1 Bis LM
Peugeots at La Sarthe.

The winning Evo 1 Bis LM #3 car is chassis #EV12, and 1993 was its last race. With two victories at La Sarthe Peugeot decided to abandon the WSC effort and concentrate on F1 instead (with terrible results). Spark once again delivered a smashing hit with this model, a terrific representation of the real thing in 1:43. Though I adore the sleek lines of the 908, because of the dull livery on my Spark and the richness of details on this 905, I think the 905 is now my favorite Pug of the Garage.

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